MALAYSIAN PREMIER ARRIVES IN GAZA STRIP

Gaza City, 11 Rabiul Awwal 1434/23 January 2013(MINA) – The prime minister of Malaysia arrived in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the first visit of its kind in diplomatic relations between both governments.

Prime Minister Muhammad Najib Abdul Razak arrived in Gaza via the Rafah crossing, accompanied by his wife, and was welcomed by a Hamas delegation led by Gaza premier Ismail Haniyeh, according to Palestinian news agency, Ma’an report received by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA), Wednesday.

The Malaysian premier held a brief press conference, praising the Palestinian people for enduring Israel’s oppression and urging Palestinian factions to unite.

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“We may be far from you in distance, but we are one nation and believe in the struggle of the Palestinian people,” he said.

Haniyeh thanked the government and people of Malaysia for their support for the Palestinian people.

Abdul Razak is expected to open several projects in Gaza, and will lay a foundation stone for the Gaza government’s cabinet building, which was destroyed during Israel’s November assault on the coastal territory.

In October last year, the emir of Qatar made a historic visit to the Gaza Strip, the first head of state to enter Gaza since 1999.

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Gaza’s Hamas rulers said the visit by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani had broken the Israeli siege, and Palestinians lined the street to welcome the emir, (T/R-015/R-006).

MI’RAJ NEWS AGENCY (MINA)